LISDOONVARNA – MATCH-MAKING FESTIVAL…

LISDOONVARNA – MATCH-MAKING FESTIVAL…

After some phone calls from people looking for the PATT Club to go BACK to the World famous match-making festival, we have decided it add it to our 2016 calendar. Not because we want to match people up, but for the pure ‘Craic agus Ceol’ that goes along with the festival in Co. Clare. If you are looking for a fun filled weekend of music and dancing – this is definitely the weekend break for you!!

Date of Arrival – Friday, 09th of September 2016

Duration – Three nights on a bed and breakfast basis.

Our venue – The Imperial Hotel, Lisdoonvarna

The Imperial Hotel is a superior 3 star hotel located in the historic spa resort town of Lisdoonvarna, right on the main street. Facilities include 100 ensuite bedrooms, foyer, dining room and bar all tastefully decorated. Lisdoonvarna is world famous for its spa wells and the famous Matchmaking Festival every September. The famous Cliffs of Moher are a few miles away, which now boast a state of the art Visitors Centre, with stunning video installations.

150 years of Matchmaking in Lisdoonvarna

Matchmaking is one of Ireland’s oldest traditions and, for the last couple of hundred years, a good deal of it has taken place in Lisdoonvarna during the month of September. The name Lisdoonvarna comes from ‘Lios Duin Bhearna’, which means the lios or enclosure of the fort in the gap. The town developed into a tourist centre as early as the middle of the 18th-century when a top Limerick surgeon discovered the beneficial effects of its mineral waters. People travelled from near and far to bathe in, and drink, the mineral waters. Rich in iron, sulphur and magnesium, the waters gave relief from the symptoms of certain diseases including rheumatism and glandular fever. The Spa Hotel was the centre around which the village developed. It was due to the popularity of these mineral springs and the huge amount of people going there that led to the Lisdoonvarna “matchmaking tradition”. September became the peak month of the holiday season and with the harvest safely in, bachelor farmers flocked to Lisdoonvarna in search of a wife. By the 1920s, matchmaking was still in vogue and people continued to come and “take the waters”. People don’t necessarily come to look for a spouse – they come by the thousands in search of a good time. For the month of September, dances run from 12noon each day and carry on into the small hours of the next morning. Set dancing exhibitions are also a feature of the event and there’s live Irish music in most pubs, although getting to the bar can be quite a task, but don’t worry or hurry, because the music carries on until the early hours.

Cost Per Person €395pps

Single rooms are available at a supplement of €20 per night…

These rooms will be sold on a strictly first come first served basis, and will only be considered confirmed when the appropriate deposit of €100 has been received.